However, in recent decades, a less-than-positive outlook for the King of Beers has emerged. Budweiser has seen a steady decline in domestic sales and market share, and the decline is accelerating by the day. In 2009, Bud's US market share was 14.4%. Only 5 years later, it has fallen half that and currently stands at 7.6%. The primary reason for the sharp decline is that the primary traditional consumer segment of Budweiser – the older and rural male - is getting older and drinking less. Beer Insight statistics show that the 28-34 year old demographic is the biggest Budweiser consumer segment, but they are drinking less as they settle down. Instead, the legal drinking age (LGA) is becoming flooded with a younger generation with decidedly different tastes. Millennials now comprise the biggest segment of the LGA population by growth and composition. According to census data, the number of people turning 21 peaked in 2013 at 4.6 million. Shockingly, per Budweiser's own research, an astounding 44% of young drinkers ages 21-27 have never tasted the King of Beers. Notably, they have tried AB InBev's fastest growing sister brand, Bud Light, but not Budweiser. One might argue that AB InBev is actually cannibalizing its Budweiser brand – however, for the scope of this project, we will focus our analysis on the Budweiser brand in isolation. .
The other main beer competitors have seen upticks in sales, and they continue to experience growth. Perhaps most shockingly, Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) sales are up 6 million barrels a year, despite no advertising whatsoever. PBR has enjoyed resurgence the past few years due to its appeal to hipster millennials, and can attribute its growth mainly due to word-of-mouth. Moreover, Pabst inexplicably enjoys a higher taste score according to Beer Advocate of 69, compared with 57 for Budweiser. In addition, there have been structural changes to the overall beer market.
